Method and system for collection and analysis of shareholder information

ABSTRACT

A system and method is provided for the gathering of and manipulation of shareholder data, including information on individual shareholders and related custodians of shares, and comparing the shareholder/custodian data to a set of rules and/or a set of marketing analysis data to identify securities compliance issues and/or evaluate a securities marketing plan.

PRIOR APPLICATION

Applicants claim priority benefits under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/478,503 filed Jun. 13, 2003.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and method for gathering andanalyzing for certain purposes information or data relating to theownership and/or custody of publicly traded securities, and moreparticularly to the gathering, manipulating and analyzing for certainpurposes of information or data relating to individual shareholdersand/or individual custodians of such securities.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Securities (e.g., stocks, bonds, notes, futures, bills, options, etc.)have been sold to the general public for many years. Companies and otherentities that offer their securities in this manner are typically knownas publicly traded. In recent years, publicly traded companies haveincreasingly faced litigation with regard to their accounting andbusiness practices and have come under greater scrutiny by regulatoryagencies. The regulator, the investor, the issuer and even externalauditors have all been affected by this trend.

Various systems have been employed to gather data on publicly tradedcompanies and public securities trades that take place. In fact,forensic accounting is focused in part, on gathering a large amount ofhistorical data relating to such practices. Large amounts of datarelating to various securities trades have been gathered and compiled byregulatory agencies, investors and securities issuers for variousreasons.

One area of data gathering however that has been largely ignored is thegathering of data relating to the individual shareholder of securitiesand/or the custodians thereof rather than only for instance, datarelating to institutional investors or data relating to the tradesthemselves. In the litigious environment in which we exist, enforcementactions, civil suits, audits, as well as activities designed to preventaccounting and trading abuses or even outright fraud can be enhanced bylooking beyond the numbers and gathering data relating to theshareholders themselves. Abuses such as insider trading and complianceissues may be more effectively monitored employing such information.Still further, securities issuers may be able to assist and/or monitorinvestor relations firms as well as investment bankers with this type ofinformation.

In addition to assisting the above-listed agencies and/or groups,gathering and manipulating of shareholder and/or custodian data can alsoprovide a significant future marketing tool for the securities issuer,providing detailed information on ownership make-up of the publiclytraded company.

It should be noted, however, that the collection and analysis ofshareholder data has not been completely ignored. For example, onereference that is directed to the gathering of shareholder data, U.S.Published Patent Application No. 2002/0120544 (“the '544 application”)discloses the collection and analysis of certain shareholder dataincluding for instance, geographic location of shareholder, familiarrelationships between shareholders, relationships between shareholdersand the companies in which they hold shares, the number of shares held,the length of time shares are held by shareholders, etc. This type ifinformation is gathered in order to evaluate the desirability of buyingor selling shares in particular companies (i.e., as an investmentanalysis tool for potential or current investors).

However, the '544 application fails to teach or suggest in any way thecollection and analysis of shareholder information or data for custodyand compliance purposes, for allowing the publicly traded company toevaluate its shareholders and market makers so as to, for example,better target potential future shareholders, for forensic accountingpurposes, or for the plethora of other purposes that may be useful toparties other than simply potential or current investors. The '544application also fails to teach or suggest gathering information or dataon individual shareholders or share custodians of a publicly tradedcompany at different points in time, comparing the information or datafrom different point in time, and providing analysis of changes based onthe comparison.

Accordingly, what is desired then is a system and method that gathersand manipulates shareholder and/or custodial information or data, andwhich, based upon the information or data, checks for compliance issues,which gathers information or data relating to an individual shareholderfor checking compliance issues, which gathers information or datarelating to an individual shareholder for processing into a form that isuseful to the processor, which gathers and manipulates information ordata relating to an individual shareholder for future marketing ofshares, which gathers information or data relating to an individualshareholder for assisting and/or monitoring the performance of investorrelations firms and/or investment bankers, among other entities, andwhich gathers information concerning the custodians of shareholders'shares in each of the afore-mentioned instances.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide asystem and method that gathers and manipulates shareholder informationor data which, based upon the information or data, checks for complianceissues.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system andmethod that gathers and manipulates shareholder information or datahaving the above characteristics and which gathers information or datarelating to an individual shareholder for checking compliance issues.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a system andmethod that gathers and manipulates shareholder information or datahaving the above characteristics and which gathers information or datarelating to an individual shareholder and/or the custodian of his/hershares for processing into a form that is useful to the system.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a system andmethod that gathers and manipulates shareholder information or datahaving the above characteristics and which gathers and manipulatesinformation or data relating to an individual shareholder for futuremarketing of shares.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a system andmethod that gathers and manipulates shareholder information or datahaving the above characteristics and which gathers information or datarelating to an individual shareholder for assisting and/or monitoringthe performance of investor relations firms and/or investment bankers,among other entities.

These and other objects of the present invention are achieved in oneembodiment by provision of a system for automatically identifyingsecurities compliance issues. The system includes a processor having acommunications connection for receiving shareholder data concerningshareholders of securities, and a storage device accessible by theprocessor, the storage device having stored thereon a set of rules. Theprocessor manipulates the received shareholder data into processedshareholder data, and compares the processed shareholder data againstthe set of rules in order to evaluate whether the processed shareholderdata complies with the set of rules.

In some embodiments, the set of rules comprises at least one of a law, aregulation, and an administrative rule. In some embodiments, the set ofrules comprises at least one rule relating to at least one of insidertrading and naked short-selling. In some embodiments, the set of rulescomprises at least one rule relating to at least one of prohibitedcollusion, unfair trade practices, and the prevention of the formationof unlawful monopolies. In some embodiments, the set of rules comprisesat least one rule relating to the sale of securities to persons livingin states in which the securities are not registered for sale.

In some embodiments, the shareholder data comprises data indicative ofat least one of share ownership, share owner location, and a sharecertificate custodian. In some embodiments, the shareholder datacomprises data indicative of whether the shareholder is at least one ofan individual, a trust, an institution and a share issuer. In certain ofthese embodiments, the shareholder data comprises data indicative of atleast one of a name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address ofthe shareholder. In certain embodiments, the shareholder data comprisesdata indicative of whether an individual shareholder is an employee oris related to an employee of a company in which the individualshareholder is a shareholder. In some embodiments, the shareholder datacomprises data indicative of a number of shares involved in a transfer.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a systemfor automatically identifying securities compliance issues includes aprocessor having a communications connection for receiving shareholderdata concerning shareholders of securities periodically or from time totime, and a storage device accessible by the processor, the storagedevice having stored thereon a set of rules. The processor comparesshareholder data received at a first time with shareholder data receivedat a second time to create comparison data, and compares the comparisondata against the set of rules in order to evaluate whether securitiescompliance issues exist.

In some embodiments, the set of rules comprises at least one of a law, aregulation, and an administrative rule. In some embodiments, the set ofrules comprises at least one rule relating to at least one of insidertrading and naked short-selling. In some embodiments, the set of rulescomprises at least one rule relating to at least one of prohibitedcollusion, unfair trade practices, and the prevention of the formationof unlawful monopolies. In some embodiments, the set of rules comprisesat least one rule relating to the sale of securities persons living instates in which the securities are not registered for sale.

In accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention, asystem for automatically creating or evaluating a securities marketingplan includes a processor having a communications connection forreceiving shareholder data concerning shareholders of securities, and astorage device accessible by the processor, the storage device havingstored thereon a set of marketing analysis data. The processormanipulates the received shareholder data into processed shareholderdata, and compares the processed shareholder data against the set ofmarketing analysis data in order to automatically create a newsecurities marketing plan or evaluate an existing securities marketingplan.

In some embodiments, the processor automatically evaluates an existingsecurities marketing plan, and the system further comprises a storagedevice accessible by the processor, the storage device having storedthereon data indicative of the existing securities marketing plan. Insome embodiments, the processor automatically evaluates performance ofat least one party involved with the current marketing plan. In certainof these embodiments, the at least one party comprises at least one ofan investment banker and an investor relations firm. In someembodiments, the shareholder data comprises data indicative of ashareholder type, and the processor automatically creates a newmarketing plan based at least in part on a distribution of shareownership among shareholder types. In some embodiments, the shareholderdata comprises data indicative of shareholder geographic location, andthe processor automatically creates a new marketing plan based at leastin part on a geographic distribution of share ownership.

In accordance with still a further embodiment of the present invention,a system for automatically creating or evaluating a securities marketingplan includes a processor having a communications connection forreceiving shareholder data concerning shareholders of securitiesperiodically or from time to time, and a storage device accessible bythe processor, the storage device having stored thereon a set ofmarketing analysis data. The processor compares shareholder datareceived at a first time with shareholder data received at a second timeto create comparison data, and compares the comparison data against theset of marketing analysis data in order to automatically create a newsecurities marketing plan or evaluate an existing securities marketingplan.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method forautomatically identifying securities compliance issues comprises thesteps of: receiving shareholder data concerning shareholders ofsecurities via a communications connection; retrieving a set of rulesfrom a storage device; automatically manipulating the receivedshareholder data into processed shareholder data; and automaticallycomparing the processed shareholder data against the set of rules inorder to evaluate whether the processed shareholder data complies withthe set of rules.

In some embodiments, the set of rules comprises at least one of a law, aregulation, and an administrative rule. In some embodiments, the set ofrules comprises at least one rule relating to at least one of insidertrading and naked short-selling. In some embodiments, the set of rulescomprises at least one rule relating to at least one of prohibitedcollusion, unfair trade practices, and the prevention of the formationof unlawful monopolies. In some embodiments, the set of rules comprisesat least one rule relating to the sale of securities to persons livingin states in which the securities are not registered for sale.

In some embodiments, the shareholder data comprises data indicative ofat least one of share ownership, share owner location, and a sharecertificate custodian. In some embodiments, the shareholder datacomprises data indicative of whether the shareholder is at least one ofan individual, a trust, an institution and a share issuer. In certain ofthese embodiments, the shareholder data comprises data indicative of atleast one of a name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address ofthe shareholder. In certain embodiments, the shareholder data comprisesdata indicative of whether an individual shareholder is an employee oris related to an employee of a company in which the individualshareholder is a shareholder. In some embodiments, the shareholder datacomprises data indicative of a number of shares involved in a transfer.

In accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, a method forautomatically identifying securities compliance issues comprises thesteps of: receiving, at a first time, shareholder data concerningshareholders of securities via a communications connection; receiving,at a second time, shareholder data concerning shareholders of securitiesvia a communications connection; retrieving a set of rules from astorage device; automatically comparing the shareholder data received atthe first time with the shareholder data received at the second time tocreate comparison data; and automatically comparing the comparison dataagainst the set of rules in order to evaluate whether securitiescompliance issues exist.

In some embodiments, the set of rules comprises at least one of a law, aregulation, and an administrative rule. In some embodiments, the set ofrules comprises at least one rule relating to at least one of insidertrading and naked short-selling. In some embodiments, the set of rulescomprises at least one rule relating to at least one of prohibitedcollusion, unfair trade practices, and the prevention of the formationof unlawful monopolies. In some embodiments, the set of rules comprisesat least one rule relating to the sale of securities to persons livingin states in which the securities are not registered for sale.

In accordance with still a further embodiment of the present invention,a method for automatically creating or evaluating a securities marketingplan comprises the steps of: receiving shareholder data concerningshareholders of securities via a communications connection; retrieving aset of marketing analysis data from a storage device; automaticallymanipulating the received shareholder data into processed shareholderdata; and automatically comparing the processed shareholder data againstthe set of marketing analysis data in order to create a new securitiesmarketing plan or evaluate an existing securities marketing plan.

In some embodiments, the method automatically evaluates an existingsecurities marketing plan, and further comprises the step of retrievingdata indicative of the existing securities marketing plan from a storagedevice. In some embodiments, the automatically comparing step comprisesthe step of evaluating performance of at least one party involved withthe current marketing plan. In certain of these embodiments, the atleast one party comprises at least one of an investment banker and aninvestor relations firm.

In some embodiments, the shareholder data comprises data indicative of ashareholder type, and the automatically comparing step comprises thestep of automatically creating a new marketing plan based at least inpart on a distribution of share ownership among shareholder types. Insome embodiments, the shareholder data comprises data indicative ofshareholder geographic location, and the automatically comparing stepcomprises the step of automatically creating a new marketing plan basedat least in part on a geographic distribution of share ownership.

In accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention, amethod for automatically creating or evaluating a securities marketingplan comprises the steps of: receiving, at a first time, shareholderdata concerning shareholders of securities via a communicationsconnection; receiving, at a second time, shareholder data concerningshareholders of securities via a communications connection; retrieving aset of marketing analysis data from a storage device; automaticallycomparing shareholder data received at the first time with shareholderdata received at the second time to create comparison data; andautomatically comparing the comparison data against the set of marketinganalysis data in order to automatically create a new securitiesmarketing plan or evaluate an existing securities marketing plan.

In accordance with yet a further embodiment of the present invention, asystem for automatically calculating shareholder cost basis dataincludes a processor having a communications connection for receivingshareholder data concerning shareholders of securities, the shareholderdata including data indicative of a time of share purchase, and astorage device accessible by the processor, the storage device havingstored thereon share price data indicative of share price over time. Theprocessor retrieves share price data from the storage device based atleast in part upon the data indicative of a time of share purchasecontained in the shareholder data, and then generates cost basis databased at least in part upon the shareholder data and the share pricedata.

In some embodiments, the share price data is indicative of share priceon a per day basis. In some embodiments, the share price data isindicative of share price on an intraday basis. In certain embodiments,the processor further generates a buy-out offering price estimate basedat least in part upon the cost basis data. In some embodiments, theprocessor further generates a shareholder cost basis report.

In accordance with still another embodiment of the present invention, amethod for automatically calculating shareholder cost basis dataincludes the steps of: receiving shareholder data concerningshareholders of securities, the shareholder data including dataindicative of a time of share purchase; retrieving share price dataindicative of share price over time from a storage device based at leastin part upon the data indicative of a time of share purchase containedin the shareholder data; and generating cost basis data based at leastin part upon the shareholder data and the share price data.

In some embodiments, the share price data is indicative of share priceon a per day basis. In some embodiments, the share price data isindicative of share price on an intraday basis. In certain embodiments,the method further comprises the step of generating a buy-out offeringprice estimate based at least in part upon the cost basis data. In someembodiments, the method further comprises the step of generating ashareholder cost basis report.

Other objects of the invention and its particular features andadvantages will become more apparent from consideration of the followingdrawings and accompanying detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating operation of oneadvantageous embodiment of a system and method in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating operation of a complianceevaluation routine of the embodiment of the present invention shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating operation of another complianceevaluation routine of the embodiment of the present invention shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 4A is a flow diagram illustrating operation of a first securitiesmarketing plan creation routine of the embodiment of the presentinvention shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4B is a flow diagram illustrating operation of a first securitiesmarketing plan evaluation routine of the embodiment of the presentinvention shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5A is a flow diagram illustrating operation of a second securitiesmarketing plan creation routine of the embodiment of the presentinvention shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5B is a flow diagram illustrating operation of a second securitiesmarketing plan evaluation routine of the embodiment of the presentinvention shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating operation of a shareholder costbasis data calculation routine of the embodiment of the presentinvention shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

It should be understood that for the sake of simplicity, the term“shareholder” as used herein is intended to mean shareholders and/orcustodians of shares. Similarly, when the term “shareholder data” isused, it should be understood that what is meant is data relating to theshareholders and/or custodians of shares.

Referring now to the figures, wherein like reference numerals designatecorresponding structure throughout the views.

As previously stated, a system and method is desired for the gatheringof shareholder data for determination of compliance issues. The '544application only discloses the collection and analysis of certainshareholder data in order to evaluate the desirability of acquiringshares in particular companies, but fails to teach determining if theshareholder data raises any compliance issues, or generating/evaluatinga securities marketing plan.

FIG. 1 illustrates one advantageous embodiment of system 10 for thegathering of, manipulation of, and determination of whether the gatheredshareholder data complies with a set of rules. In this advantageousembodiment, system 10 includes a processor 12 for processing of theshareholder data. Processor 12 is provided with a network connection 14for connecting to a server 16 in order to access shareholder data.

It is contemplated that network connection 14 joining the processor 12and server 16 may be or include any one or more of, for instance, theInternet, an intranet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide AreaNetwork) or a MAN (Metropolitan Area Network), a frame relay connection,an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) connection, a synchronous opticalnetwork (SONET) connection, a digital T1, T3 or E1 line, Digital DataService (DDS) connection, DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) connection, anEthernet connection, an ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) connection,FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface) or CDDI (Copper Distributed DataInterface) connections.

Server 16 in turn is variously connected to computers 18, 18′, 18″ whichmay comprise for instance personal computers or other servers. Inaddition, while three computers 18, 18′, 18″ are illustrated it iscontemplated that any number may be variously connected to server 16.Computers 18, 18′, 18″ are one source for the acquisition of shareholderdata and may include for instance, but is not limited to, a computer foran individual, a trust, an institution, a share issuer, a registrar, atransfer agent, an investor relations firm, an investment banker, theDepository Trust Company (DTC), Automatic Data Processing (ADP), Cede&Co., etc., to name a few. These may simply be some of the sources fromwhich shareholder data may variously be obtained.

Network link 20 may comprise or include any of the systems as describedin connection with network link 14 above. In addition, network link 20may furthermore be or include a Personal Area Network (PAN), a FamilyArea Network (FAN), a cable modem connection, an analog modem connectionsuch as a V.90 or other protocol connection, an Integrated ServiceDigital Network (ISDN) or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) connection, aBlueTooth wireless link, a WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) link, aSymbian® link, a GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) link, a GSM (GlobalSystem for Mobile Communication) link, a CDMA (Code Division MultipleAccess) or TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) link such as a cellularphone channel, a GPS (Global Positioning System) link, CDPD (cellulardigital packet data), a RIM (Research in Motion, Limited) duplex pagingtype device, an IEEE 802.11-based radio frequency link, or other wiredor wireless links.

In addition, computers 18, 18′, 18″ as well as server 16 may be orinclude, for instance, a personal computer running the MicrosoftWindows® 95, 98, 2000, Millenium®, NT®, XP, Windows CE®, Palm® OS,Unix®, Linux®, Solaris®, OS/2®, BeOS®, MacOS® or other operating systemor platform. Computers 18, 18′, 18″ as well as server 16 may also be orinclude any microprocessor-based machine such as an Intel® x86-baseddevice or Motorola 68K or PowerPC device, microcontroller or othergeneral or special purpose device operating under programmed control.

The various shareholder data gathered by processor 12 may include forinstance, details of: share ownership, share owner location, and theshare certificate custodian. Shareholder data may include the categoryof the shareholder (e.g. whether an individual, trust, institution orshare issuer). Shareholder data may include identification of thecustodian of the shares (e.g. whether an individual, aregistrar/transfer agent, or the Depository Trust Company/ADP-ICS).

If the shareholder is an individual, the shareholder data may includethe shareholder's name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address,and may further be identified as for instance a seller or a buyer over aproscribed period of time, by the number of shares involved in atransaction(s), or by custodial groups.

As stated previously, the gathering of this type of shareholder data maybe helpful for regulatory agencies (e.g. Federal and State authorities)and stock issuers in determining compliance issues and/or determining ifimproper or illegal transactions (e.g. insider trading, naked shortselling, etc.) are taking place. This type of shareholder informationmay further be helpful to or desired by purchasers.

While processor 12 is illustrated as gathering shareholder data from orthrough server 16, it is contemplated that processor 12 may gathershareholder data from many varying sources including directly fromcomputers 18, 18′, 18″.

Processor 12 processes or manipulates the gathered shareholder data intoa desired or usable data format for comparison with a rule to determinecompliance with the standard. It is contemplated that the rule mayinclude for instance a law, a regulation, a rule and/or historicalinformation.

The following are some examples of compliance determinations that may bemade by processor 12 in determining whether the shareholder datacomplies with a rule. For instance, it is contemplated that thecomparison for compliance with the standard may include a determinationof ownership of stock at a point in time or changes in ownership ofstock between points in time to determine for instance, if the stock isbeing naked short sold at the point in time and/or between the points intime. Further, the compliance determination may include identifyingbuying and selling activity of an unusual nature when compared withhistorical buying and selling activity as to for instance, the categoryof: the shareholder, geographic location, the market maker, or sharecustodian. In addition, the compliance determination may further includean identification of shareholders who may be employees of or related toemployees of the issuing corporation to monitor insider trading andcompliance with regulatory reporting. Still further, the compliancedetermination may still further include monitoring of market makers asmeasured by selling and buying over proscribed periods.

Processor 12 may in addition to, or instead of, verifying compliancewith the various rules, perform evaluate a securities marketing plan bymanipulating the received shareholder data into processed shareholderdata, and comparing the processed shareholder data against a set ofmarketing analysis data (preferably retrieved from storage 22) in orderto automatically create a new securities marketing plan or evaluate anexisting securities marketing plan.

System 10 is further illustrated in FIG. 1 as including storage 22,which may comprise in one advantageous embodiment a storage ofinformation relating to for instance a standard and/or variousshareholder data.

Processor 12 is also connected to client computer 24 via networkconnection 26. It is contemplated that network connection 26 may be orcomprise any connection as described in connection with networkconnection 20. In addition, client computer 24 may also be or compriseany type of computer or platform such as is described for instance inconnection with computers 18, 18′, 18″.

Once a determination is made as to whether the gathered shareholder datacomplies with a rule, processor 12 may further generate a report basedupon the determination. This report may be saved on storage 22 to belater pulled by client computer 24 or may be pushed to client computer24 when completed or according to a schedule. In any event, thedetermination of compliance may be accessed by client computer 24.

The compliance evaluation and securities marketing plan routines areshown in more detail in FIGS. 2-5B.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating operation of a complianceevaluation routine 100 of system 10. Initially, routine 100 receivesshareholder data as shown at block 102. The shareholder data maycomprise for instance, any of the data as described in connection withFIG. 1. Method 100 further includes the step of manipulating theshareholder data into processed shareholder data, as shown at block 104.Again, the format of the processed data may comprise any format desiredand/or useable for determining compliance.

The next step, illustrated at block 106, is to compare the processedshareholder data against the set of rules, which may comprise forinstance, a law, a regulation, a rule and/or historical information asdescribed in connection with FIG. 1. Once the shareholder data iscompared to the set of rules (at block 106), a determination is made at108 as to whether the shareholder data complies with the set of rules.It should be noted that this determination of compliance may include butis not limited to any of the previously described or above-listedcompliance determinations per FIG. 1. If the shareholder data complieswith the set of rules, in one advantageous embodiment a report ornotification of such may be generated to notify the client ofcompliance, as shown at block 110. If the shareholder data does notcomply with the set of rules, in another advantageous embodiment areport or notification of such may be generated to notify the client ofnon-compliance 112.

Referring now to FIG. 3, operation of an alternative complianceevaluation routine 200 of system 10 is shown. In accordance with thisembodiment, routine 200 gathers shareholder data at a first time (T1)and at a second time (T2), as shown at blocks 202 and 204 respectively.The shareholder data may comprise for instance, any of the data asdescribed in connection with FIG. 1. Method 200 further includes thestep of comparing, at block 206, the T1 data with the T2 data so as tocreate comparison data. As above, the format of the comparison data maycomprise any format desired and/or useable for determining compliance.The next step, illustrated at block 208, is to compare the comparisondata against the set of rules, which may comprise for instance, a law, aregulation, a rule and/or historical information as described inconnection with FIG. 1.

The remainder of method 200 is similar to method 100 described abovewith reference to FIG. 2. More specifically, once the shareholder datais compared to the set of rules (at block 208), a determination is madeat 210 as to whether the shareholder data complies with the set ofrules. Again, this determination of compliance may include but is notlimited to any of the previously described or above-listed compliancedeterminations per FIG. 1. If the shareholder data complies with the setof rules, in one advantageous embodiment a report may be generated tonotify the client of compliance, as shown at block 212. If theshareholder data does not comply with the set of rules, in anotheradvantageous embodiment a report may be generated to notify the clientof non-compliance 214.

The determination of compliance or non-compliance of the shareholderdata with the set of rules will provide, for instance, the regulatorand/or the issuer with valuable information for determining compliancewith laws and regulations to prevent abuses and outright fraud. Thisevaluation may also highlight or pick up unusual trading activity whencompared to for instance, historical trading data. In any event, theadditional information may provide valuable insight into the tradingactivities monitored whether a single set of shareholder data isanalyzed or multiple sets in time are analyzed as described above.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are flow diagrams illustrating operation of a routine300, 300′ of system 10 for automatically creating or evaluating asecurities marketing plan. As with above, the initial step (shown at302) is to gather shareholder data concerning shareholders ofsecurities. At 304, this data is manipulated into processed shareholderdata having a useable format. Next, at block 306, this processedshareholder data is compared against marketing analysis data retrievedfrom a storage device. Finally, based upon the results of the comparisonat block 306, a new securities marketing plan is created at block 308(FIG. 4A), or an existing securities marketing plan is evaluated atblock 308′ (FIG. 4B). In the latter case, data indicative of theexisting securities marketing plan is preferably retrieved from astorage device (which may in one advantageous embodiment comprise adatabase) for evaluation at block 308′.

Referring now to FIGS. 5A and 5B, flow diagrams illustrating operationof an alternate routine 400, 400′ of system 10 for automaticallycreating or evaluating a securities marketing plan is shown. Inaccordance with this embodiment, routine 400, 400′ gathers shareholderdata at a first time (T1) and at a second time (T2), as shown at blocks402 and 404 respectively. The shareholder data may comprise forinstance, any of the data as described in connection with FIG. 1. Method400, 400′ further includes the step of comparing, at block 406, the T1data with the T2 data to create comparison data. As above, the format ofthe comparison data may comprise any format desired and/or useable fordetermining compliance. The next step, illustrated at block 408, is tocompare the comparison data against marketing analysis data retrievedfrom a storage device. Finally, based upon the results of the comparisonat block 408, a new securities marketing plan is created at block 410(FIG. 5A), or an existing securities marketing plan is evaluated atblock 410′ (FIG. 5B). In the latter case, data indicative of theexisting securities marketing plan is preferably retrieved from astorage device for evaluation at block 410′.

It is contemplated that various clients such as for instance, investorrelations firms, may be able to evaluate and/or improve theirperformance with respect to a current marketing plan or generate a newmarketing plan based upon the gathered and evaluated data.

The present invention may further be applicable to automaticallycalculate shareholder cost basis data, which may be useful for example,by investment bankers with respect to so-called Pressure Reports.

For instance, investment bankers are responsible in merger andacquisition assignments to determine a recommended buy-out offeringprice that is high enough to entice shareholders to sell but is not sohigh that substantially more per share is paid than is necessary for asuccessful buy-out. The recommended buy-out offering price is determinedby assessing what offering price will entice existing shareholders tosell based in part on an analysis of shareholder cost basis. The termPressure Report as used in this application is used to describe a reportgenerated by investment bankers which is typically based on aguesstimate of shareholder cost basis.

Shareholder data gathered and processed according to the presentinvention may be used in place of or add meaningful value to PressureReports to more accurately determine true or closer to true, i.e. betterthan the current guesstimate, shareholder cost basis.

In one embodiment such a method 500 as is illustrated in FIG. 6 isprovided for automatically calculating shareholder cost basis data.

First, shareholder data concerning shareholders of securities isreceived at 502. The shareholder data includes data indicative of a timeof share purchase. Next at 504 share price data indicative of shareprice over time is retrieved from a storage device based at least inpart upon the data indicative of a time of share purchase contained inthe shareholder data. The share price information may comprise dataindicative of a share price on a per day basis, or more preferably of ashare price on an intraday basis. Next at 506 cost basis data isgenerated based at least in part upon the shareholder data and the shareprice data.

This cost basis data may be used for various purposes, such asgenerating a buy-out offering price estimate (as shown at 508 a),generating a shareholder cost basis report (as shown at 508 b), or forother purposes.

It should be noted that, while various functions and methods have beendescribed and presented in a sequence of steps, the sequence has beenprovided merely as an illustration of one advantageous embodiment, andthat it is not necessary to perform these functions in the specificorder illustrated. It is further contemplated that any of these stepsmay be moved and/or combined relative to any of the other steps. Inaddition, it is still further contemplated that it may be advantageous,depending upon the application, to utilize all or any portion of thefunctions described herein.

The present invention therefore provides a system and method thatgathers and manipulates shareholder and/or custodial information ordata, and which, based upon the information or data, checks forcompliance issues, which gathers information or data relating to anindividual shareholder for checking compliance issues, which gathersinformation or data relating to an individual shareholder for processinginto a form that is useful to the processor, which gathers andmanipulates information or data relating to an individual shareholderfor future marketing of shares, which gathers information or datarelating to an individual shareholder for assisting and/or monitoringthe performance of investor relations firms and/or investment bankers,among other entities, and which gathers information concerning thecustodians of shareholders' shares in each of the afore-mentionedinstances.

Although the invention has been described with reference to particularingredients and formulations and the like, these are not intended toexhaust all possible arrangements or features, and indeed many othermodifications and variations will be ascertainable to those of skill inthe art.

1. A system for automatically identifying securities compliance issues,said system comprising: a processor having a communications connectionfor receiving shareholder data concerning shareholders of securities; astorage device accessible by said processor, said storage device havingstored thereon a set of rules; and wherein said processor manipulatesthe received shareholder data into processed shareholder data, andcompares the processed shareholder data against the set of rules inorder to evaluate whether the processed shareholder data complies withthe set of rules.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein the set of rulescomprises at least one of a law, a regulation, and an administrativerule.
 3. The system of claim 1 wherein the set of rules comprises atleast one rule relating to at least one of insider trading and nakedshort-selling.
 4. The system of claim 1 wherein the set of rulescomprises at least one rule relating to at least one of prohibitedcollusion, unfair trade practices, and the prevention of the formationof unlawful monopolies.
 5. The system of claim 1 wherein the set ofrules comprises at least one rule relating to the sale of securities topersons living in states in which the securities are not registered forsale.
 6. The system of claim 1 wherein the shareholder data comprisesdata indicative of at least one of share ownership, share ownerlocation, and a share certificate custodian.
 7. The system of claim 1wherein the shareholder data comprises data indicative of whether theshareholder is at least one of an individual, a trust, an institutionand a share issuer.
 8. The system of claim 7 wherein the shareholderdata comprises data indicative of at least one of a name, address,telephone number, and e-mail address of the shareholder.
 9. The systemof claim 7 wherein the shareholder data comprises data indicative ofwhether an individual shareholder is an employee or is related to anemployee of a company in which the individual shareholder is ashareholder.
 10. The system of claim 1 wherein the shareholder datacomprises data indicative of a number of shares involved in a transfer.11. A system for automatically identifying securities compliance issues,said system comprising: a processor having a communications connectionfor receiving shareholder data concerning shareholders of securitiesperiodically or from time to time; a storage device accessible by saidprocessor, said storage device having stored thereon a set of rules; andwherein said processor compares shareholder data received at a firsttime with shareholder data received at a second time to createcomparison data, and compares the comparison data against the set ofrules in order to evaluate whether securities compliance issues exist.12. The system of claim 11 wherein the set of rules comprises at leastone of a law, a regulation, and an administrative rule.
 13. The systemof claim 11 wherein the set of rules comprises at least one rulerelating to at least one of insider trading and naked short-selling. 14.The system of claim 11 wherein the set of rules comprises at least onerule relating to at least one of prohibited collusion, unfair tradepractices, and the prevention of the formation of unlawful monopolies.15. The system of claim 11 wherein the set of rules comprises at leastone rule relating to the sale of securities persons living in states inwhich the securities are not registered for sale.
 16. A system forautomatically creating or evaluating a securities marketing plan, saidsystem comprising: a processor having a communications connection forreceiving shareholder data concerning shareholders of securities; astorage device accessible by said processor, said storage device havingstored thereon a set of marketing analysis data; and wherein saidprocessor manipulates the received shareholder data into processedshareholder data, and compares the processed shareholder data againstthe set of marketing analysis data in order to automatically create anew securities marketing plan or evaluate an existing securitiesmarketing plan.
 17. The system of claim 16 wherein said processorautomatically evaluates an existing securities marketing plan, andfurther comprising a storage device accessible by said processor, saidstorage device having stored thereon data indicative of the existingsecurities marketing plan.
 18. The system of claim 17 wherein saidprocessor automatically evaluates or aids performance of at least oneparty involved with the current marketing plan.
 19. The system of claim18 wherein the at least one party comprises at least one of aninvestment banker and an investor relations firm.
 20. The system ofclaim 16 wherein the shareholder data comprises data indicative of ashareholder type, and wherein said processor automatically creates a newmarketing plan based at least in part on a distribution of shareownership among shareholder types.
 21. The system of claim 16 whereinthe shareholder data comprises data indicative of shareholder geographiclocation, and wherein said processor automatically creates a newmarketing plan based at least in part on a geographic distribution ofshare ownership.
 22. A system for automatically creating or evaluating asecurities marketing plan, said system comprising: a processor having acommunications connection for receiving shareholder data concerningshareholders of securities periodically or from time to time; a storagedevice accessible by said processor, said storage device having storedthereon a set of marketing analysis data; and wherein said processorcompares shareholder data received at a first time with shareholder datareceived at a second time to create comparison data, and compares thecomparison data against the set of marketing analysis data in order toautomatically create a new securities marketing plan or evaluate anexisting securities marketing plan.
 23. A method for automaticallyidentifying securities compliance issues, the method comprising thesteps of: receiving shareholder data concerning shareholders ofsecurities via a communications connection; retrieving a set of rulesfrom a storage device; automatically manipulating the receivedshareholder data into processed shareholder data; and automaticallycomparing the processed shareholder data against the set of rules inorder to evaluate whether the processed shareholder data complies withthe set of rules.
 24. The method of claim 23 wherein the set of rulescomprises at least one of a law, a regulation, and an administrativerule.
 25. The method of claim 23 wherein the set of rules comprises atleast one rule relating to at least one of insider trading and nakedshort-selling.
 26. The method of claim 23 wherein the set of rulescomprises at least one rule relating to at least one of prohibitedcollusion, unfair trade practices, and the prevention of the formationof unlawful monopolies.
 27. The method of claim 23 wherein the set ofrules comprises at least one rule relating to the sale of securities topersons living in states in which the securities are not registered forsale.
 28. The method of claim 23 wherein the shareholder data comprisesdata indicative of at least one of share ownership, share ownerlocation, and a share certificate custodian.
 29. The method of claim 23wherein the shareholder data comprises data indicative of whether theshareholder is at least one of an individual, a trust, an institutionand a share issuer.
 30. The method of claim 29 wherein the shareholderdata comprises data indicative of at least one of a name, address,telephone number, and e-mail address of the shareholder.
 31. The methodof claim 29 wherein the shareholder data comprises data indicative ofwhether an individual shareholder is an employee or is related to anemployee of a company in which the individual shareholder is ashareholder.
 32. The method of claim 23 wherein the shareholder datacomprises data indicative of a number of shares involved in a transfer.33. A method for automatically identifying securities compliance issues,the method comprising the steps of: receiving, at a first time,shareholder data concerning shareholders of securities via acommunications connection; receiving, at a second time, shareholder dataconcerning shareholders of securities via a communications connection;retrieving a set of rules from a storage device; automatically comparingthe shareholder data received at the first time with the shareholderdata received at the second time to create comparison data; andautomatically comparing the comparison data against the set of rules inorder to evaluate whether securities compliance issues exist.
 34. Themethod of claim 33 wherein the set of rules comprises at least one of alaw, a regulation, and an administrative rule.
 35. The method of claim33 wherein the set of rules comprises at least one rule relating to atleast one of insider trading and naked short-selling.
 36. The method ofclaim 33 wherein the set of rules comprises at least one rule relatingto at least one of prohibited collusion, unfair trade practices, and theprevention of the formation of unlawful monopolies.
 37. The method ofclaim 33 wherein the set of rules comprises at least one rule relatingto the sale of securities to persons living in states in which thesecurities are not registered for sale.
 38. A method for automaticallycreating or evaluating a securities marketing plan, the methodcomprising the steps of: receiving shareholder data concerningshareholders of securities via a communications connection; retrieving aset of marketing analysis data from a storage device; automaticallymanipulating the received shareholder data into processed shareholderdata; and automatically comparing the processed shareholder data againstthe set of marketing analysis data in order to create a new securitiesmarketing plan or evaluate an existing securities marketing plan. 39.The method of claim 38 wherein the method automatically evaluates anexisting securities marketing plan, and further comprising the step ofretrieving data indicative of the existing securities marketing planfrom a storage device.
 40. The method of claim 39 wherein saidautomatically comparing step comprises the step of evaluating or aidingperformance of at least one party involved with the current marketingplan.
 41. The method of claim 40 wherein the at least one partycomprises at least one of an investment banker and an investor relationsfirm.
 42. The method of claim 38 wherein the shareholder data comprisesdata indicative of a shareholder type, and wherein said automaticallycomparing step comprises the step of automatically creating a newmarketing plan based at least in part on a distribution of shareownership among shareholder types.
 43. The method of claim 38 whereinthe shareholder data comprises data indicative of shareholder geographiclocation, and wherein said automatically comparing step comprises thestep of automatically creating a new marketing plan based at least inpart on a geographic distribution of share ownership.
 44. A method forautomatically creating or evaluating a securities marketing plan, themethod comprising the steps of: receiving, at a first time, shareholderdata concerning shareholders of securities via a communicationsconnection; receiving, at a second time, shareholder data concerningshareholders of securities via a communications connection; retrieving aset of marketing analysis data from a storage device; automaticallycomparing shareholder data received at the first time with shareholderdata received at the second time to create comparison data; andautomatically comparing the comparison data against the set of marketinganalysis data in order to automatically create a new securitiesmarketing plan or evaluate an existing securities marketing plan.
 45. Asystem for automatically calculating shareholder cost basis data, saidsystem comprising: a processor having a communications connection forreceiving shareholder data concerning shareholders of securities,wherein the shareholder data includes data indicative of a time of sharepurchase; a storage device accessible by said processor, said storagedevice having stored thereon share price data indicative of share priceover time; and wherein said processor retrieves share price data fromsaid storage device based at least in part upon the data indicative of atime of share purchase contained in the shareholder data, and thengenerates cost basis data based at least in part upon the shareholderdata and the share price data.
 46. The system of claim 45 wherein theshare price data is indicative of share price on a per day basis. 47.The system of claim 45 wherein the share price data is indicative ofshare price on an intraday basis.
 48. The system of claim 45 whereinsaid processor further generates a buy-out offering price estimate basedat least in part upon the cost basis data.
 49. The system of claim 45wherein said processor further generates a shareholder cost basisreport.
 50. A method for automatically calculating shareholder costbasis data, said method comprising the steps of: receiving shareholderdata concerning shareholders of securities, wherein the shareholder dataincludes data indicative of a time of share purchase; retrieving shareprice data indicative of share price over time from a storage devicebased at least in part upon the data indicative of a time of sharepurchase contained in the shareholder data; and generating cost basisdata based at least in part upon the shareholder data and the shareprice data.
 51. The method of claim 50 wherein the share price data isindicative of share price on a per day basis.
 52. The method of claim 50wherein the share price data is indicative of share price on an intradaybasis.
 53. The method of claim 50 further comprising the step ofgenerating a buy-out offering price estimate based at least in part uponthe cost basis data.
 54. The method of claim 50 further comprising thestep of generating a shareholder cost basis report.